Suspicion
by brandstifterin
Summary: Things go from bad to worse for Serena Campbell over Christmas after Edward's public betrayal.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This is a short, little story, only two or three chapters and it was prompted by a thought of mine when reading the second chapter of PinkCollins' – 'My Only Friend'. **

**I may have taken a couple of liberties with the timings but it's my story and I'll do what I want :) so any inaccuracies are mine and (hopefully) deliberate.**

**Would love to know if you think this is worth continuing, it's a little bit different to the other Sedward stories floating around at the moment.**

**…...**

"Imbecile."

Serena slams the door behind her, locking herself into the car in case Edward decides to follow her, jump in and tell her yet more lies in an effort to dig his way out of yet another sorry mess he's gotten himself into. She uses a hand to massage her temples as the tension threatens to develop into a full-blown migraine.

"_As Deputy CEO, I am more than happy to accept full responsibility for Mr. Campbell's fitness to work."_

"Idiot." Serena's fingers squeeze a little too tightly and she grimaces, knowing that her insults apply as much to herself as they do her ex-husband. He has managed to make her look like a fool yet again and she was right when she told Edward that it is her who doesn't seem to learn. Leaning back into the chair, Serena rests her head and closes her eyes.

She'd spotted Edward waiting for her in the corridor almost immediately as she leaves AAU after her shift. He's tapping a finger against his forehead in some weird parody of 'The Thinker' which is almost laughable because her ex-husband certainly hasn't done _any_ thinking recently. He looks up when he hears her approach and Serena makes her displeasure at seeing him quite obvious.

"You're suspended; you shouldn't even be on the premises."

"I know I behaved appallingly, unforgivable." Serena has little desire to continue the conversation and carries on walking but Edward turns and falls into step next to her to to Serena's annoyance. "But Eleanor wants us together as a family for Christmas." Serena is careful to remain outwardly unmoved and she holds her tongue, she'd love nothing more to point out that they haven't had a family Christmas for 13 years.

"I'll get treatment, whatever it takes, please, Serena..." They seem to have come to a halt and Serena can guess what Edward is about to say, she's heard it all before. "We have a future." She sighs, sounding more resigned and defeated than anything else.

"_Had _a future; based on lies, deceit, half-truths, game-playing, all our relationship's ever been, really..." she swallows, determined to keep her voice flat and unemotional, to pretend that she doesn't care when they both know the opposite is the truth – she cares too much. "You use people, Edward and you let them down, again and again. It's not just me and Eleanor but Mary-Claire, Harry, Mr. Chandler – the list's endless..." She can hear her voice starting to crack and Serena stops, taking a calming breath as she looks up and down the corridor they're in.

"I know, I know – I'm sorry." There's no-one in hearing range and yet another meaningless apology from the man she has known for the best part of thirty years is enough to provoke her.

"I took responsibility for you. I risked my career, for you... and you have humiliated me."

"Please."

"Ha, where have I heard that before?" It's the same old song and dance with Edward and Serena has truly had her fill of him and she starts walking away once again.

"I can see that you're angry but think about Eleanor for a sec, how do you think she'll react to this?" It's a low blow from her ex-husband, their daughter has taken Edward's side in pretty much everything over the last 18 years and they both know it but this time, Serena was careful to nip Eleanor's resentment in the bud.

"I've already told her and she wasn't surprised." Edward moves to stand in front of her this time, blocking her path and Serena looks up at her ex-husband and sticks the knife in. "She's used to being disappointed by you. I'm the one who never seems to learn."

They'd parted a few seconds later, Serena stepping around the suspended anaesthetist and off out of the exit; she had wanted nothing more than to slink off into the darkness and lick her wounds in private but she'd been spotted by some of the carol singing staff and instead of causing a scene by ignoring them, Serena had reluctantly plastered a fake smile to her face and gone to join them, to pretend to share their Christmas Eve happiness.

After a couple of songs, Serena had managed to slip away unnoticed, the strains of carols following her until she reaches her car and she jumps in, her breath catching slightly as she takes a couple of deep breaths. Once she's decided that she is finally calm enough to drive, Serena turns the car on and engages reverse a little more forcefully than she needs to. She backs out of her allocated parking space and makes her way off the hospital grounds, not wanting to linger.

Just after the main building, she passes a couple of teenagers on the path and about fifteen yards ahead of them, the painfully familiar silhouette of her ex-husband as he walks home, looking as if he hasn't got a care in the world; Serena reflexively slows her BMW as if to offer him a lift but as soon as she realises what she is doing, she deliberately keeps her foot on the accelerator, not slowing until she reaches the exit and she indicates left, towards the ring road and home.

**…...**

"I guess we won't be needing this tomorrow after all."

The first thing Serena does when she gets home is uncork a rather expensive bottle of wine that she had bought to share with Edward over Christmas and pours herself a generous glass. However, it doesn't take too long before it's empty as she paces around the kitchen, venting her frustrations at the day. If she's honest, she dreads what Adrienne will say when she sees her mother tomorrow and Serena instinctively refills the glass.

But then she stops, looking at her glass of wine, almost as if seeing it for the first time and she carefully puts it back down onto the worktop; the clink of glass on the granite work surface loud in the otherwise silent kitchen. Serena removes her hand quickly as if the glass or its contents had burned her – she absolutely refuses to drown her sorrows tonight, to turn to drink to cope with the sheer recklessness of her ex-husband's actions.

Serena huffs darkly, if she'd had a drink every time Edward had done something stupid, Serena would almost certainly be dead or in desperate need of a liver transplant – his list of failures and disappointments is endless. Taking a deep breath, she closes her eyes as she exhales, willing the tension away and she feels marginally better when she opens her eyes.

Serena busies herself, turning on the radio to fight away the silence which is threatening to settle – Eleanor has gone to Adrienne's and Serena is all set to join them tomorrow morning, their original Christmas plans restored; a last minute revision necessary courtesy of Edward. When Serena had rung Eleanor earlier, her daughter had displayed more calmness and maturity than Serena would previously have given her credit for. In fact, Eleanor had arranged to go and stay with her grandmother that evening in order to let Adrienne know what had happened without causing an argument but also to allow Serena to spend the night on her own so she can vent and get any murderous thoughts out of her system.

Singing along to the radio, off-key, half a second out of time and only knowing every other line, Serena opens the fridge to see what she can use to make some kind of dinner. She doesn't have a lot in the fridge, they'd planned to be away over Christmas so Serena hadn't really stocked up.

"Hell, I've got wine, what else does a woman need?" She asks herself out loud but picks up a packet of chicken breasts, pretty certain that she's got a jar of stir-fry sauce around somewhere. Using up the last of the vegetables in her fridge, Serena methodically chops them into appropriate sizes, trying not to let herself get caught up in memories of the day.

"_One of my nurses has made an extremely serious allegation against Mr. Campbell."_

"_She's obviously out to discredit him in any way she can."_

"_Why would she lie?"_

"_I've been working with Mr. Campbell all day so it's completely ridiculous"_

"_Darling, I love you."_

Her chopping action becomes slightly more erratic as thoughts of Edward, Colette and Mary-Claire keeping replaying and completely distracted, Serena's grip accidentally slips and she cuts her hand with the sharp knife.

She jerks reflexively and some of the blood splatters onto her pink shirt but Serena barely notices at first; immediately switching into doctor-mode, she assesses the cut, there's quite a lot of blood but it's not deep enough to need stitches. Cursing as she spots the damage to her shirt, Serena moves to deal with the cut and the flow of blood soon slows and then stops completely.

It takes a couple of minutes for Serena to locate and put a plaster over the wound and she removes her pink over-shirt, tiredly eyeing the stains as she tosses the offending article of clothing straight into the washing machine.

She's rather lost her appetite and Serena replaces the unopened chicken back into the fridge and tips the vegetables away. The central heating hasn't been on for very long and it's a bit chilly to be stood in just a vest top so Serena heads upstairs to change out of her work clothes, signalling the start of her Christmas holiday and she showers before changing into some unflattering yet remarkably comfortable clothes that only Eleanor knows she owns.

"And Edward." She mutters, always Edward.

Remembering her abandoned wine, Serena heads back into the kitchen, turning off the radio as she picks up her glass. Knowing she really has to eat something if she wants to have the second glass of wine, Serena grudgingly makes herself a couple of slices of toast and swallows them, barely tasting them.

Padding back into the living room, Serena kicks off her slippers and tucks her legs underneath her as she picks up the TV remote and skips through the channels until she finds a film she recognises. She huffs at the irony when she lands on 'It's a Wonderful Life' but with little else on, Serena doesn't have much competition and so, adjusting her wine glass, she settles down to watch the familiar events unfold.

**…...**

The doorbell's piercing ring reverberates around the house and Serena's skull and it takes her a few seconds to work out that it isn't the alarm clock making the noise. She opens her eyes to discover that she's fallen asleep on the sofa with the TV still on, now part-way through a different film that she's never seen before. Finding the remote, Serena turns it off, blessed relief at the silence before pushing herself up into a seated position trying to get rid of the kink in her neck muscles – she's too old to spend the night on a sofa these days.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Serena blinks, her watch reads 11:06pm and she grimaces, it's rather embarrassing to have fallen asleep so early, these days she is rarely gets to bed before midnight. The doorbell rings out again and Serena frowns and stands, making her way towards the door. Serena doesn't know who would be outside her house at 11pm on Christmas Eve; Eleanor has her own key but she is staying with Adrienne tonight and they're both probably already fast asleep. None of her colleagues know where she lives. Except one.

If Edward dares darken her doorstep tonight, Serena decides that she won't be held responsible for her actions. Turning on the hall light to let her visitor know she's coming, Serena shuffles down the hallway and blearily opens the front door. To her initial relief, it's not Edward. Instead, she has two visitors, a middle-aged man and a younger, dark blonde woman. Serena doesn't recognise them but she does recognise the uniforms that they're wearing and the initial relief evaporates.

"Mrs. Campbell?" Serena nods, too tired to correct them about her title – she isn't married any more - and it's probably not important. "PC Frances and PC Harvey, may we come in?"

**…...**

**AN2: I would love to know what you thought of this and whether you think that this is worth continuing? Any guesses as to what's happened? **


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Thank you all very much for your kind words and feedback so here is the second chapter, this isn't the last one, you'd lynch me if it was (you'll know what I mean when you get to the end) but there will only be one or maybe two (probably two) more chapters to go. :-)**

**No, Edward is not dead but it is he is the reason for the Police visit so congrats to those who guessed :)**

**And no, neither Ric or Hanssen were anywhere near at the time. Sorry! ;)**

**…... **

"May we come in?"

Serena reflexively opens her mouth to demand more information before her brain engages and she decides that judging by the grim expressions on the faces of her visitors, this isn't a conversation she wants to have on the doorstep, in full view of the street. A quick glance past the two police officers reveals that they've arrived in an unmarked car at least and she wordlessly steps aside, allowing them into the hall, glad to shut the door behind them – it's a cold night.

"What's happened?" Serena finds her voice and warily regards the two who stare back at her, doing their best to channel Henrik Hanssen at his most inscrutable. "I'm sure it's not a social visit at gone 11 on Christmas Eve. What's happened?" Serena is far too independent to turn into the woman from the Poseidon Adventure, all shrill uselessness and no brains but she's aware that she isn't in as much control as she would like to be and that her voice may be betraying that.

"Mrs. Campbell, your husband, Mr. Edward Campbell..." The man answers and Serena exhales, feeling most of the tension leave her; her ex-husband is probably spending Christmas Eve at a police station for being drunk and disorderly. The younger woman, PC Harvey looks curiously at Serena's response but she isn't surprised that they're here about Edward, she's just relieved it isn't Adrienne or Eleanor.

"He's not my husband, we're divorced." She interrupts, answering tersely, her relief giving way to annoyance. "What has he gone and done now?"

"Perhaps we could have this chat somewhere a little more comfortable?" The man, Serena has forgotten his name already speaks again, giving nothing away. She makes a show of looking at her watch, reminding them that it's late before she concedes, leading the two of them down the hall, conscious of her attire.

She steps into the living room before she remembers the empty glass of wine on the coffee table and grimacing, Serena realises that she can't hide it in the kitchen, the two police officers are blocking her path. She takes a deep breath, determined to appear outwardly unconcerned, after all it's Christmas and even if it wasn't, a glass of wine isn't a crime. Serena takes the armchair and the two visitors perch on the sofa, failing to look relaxed in their uniforms. She deliberately doesn't offer any tea or coffee and after glancing at her watch again, the man speaks, apparently taking the hint.

"You work with Mr. Campbell?" He asks and Serena frowns, it wasn't what she was expecting him to say.

"Yes." Her answer is succinct and the man nods distractedly and Serena gets the impression that he was already aware of the fact.

"What's your relationship at work with Mr. Campbell?"

"I hardly see the necessity of this. What's he gone and done now?" Serena asks, not entirely bothered by whatever Edward has done or been caught doing; in fact, she'd much rather just go to bed than have to stay up and deal with Edward's almost certainly drunken stupidity. The man repeats his question and after a few second of staring at each other, Serena huffs. She won't get rid of these two by just staring at them and she concedes, wanting to get it over with so she can go to bed. "Mr. Campbell and I are colleagues at Holby General Hospital," she starts, keeping it formal. "He was a locum consultant anaesthetist for General Surgery and Acute Admissions wards. I am a consultant general surgeon and so we would sometimes work together in theatre." She decides not to mention her role as Executive CEO, tonight it would probably be more trouble than it's worth to mention.

"_Was _a locum anaesthetist?" The man makes a note and asks without looking up which Serena finds rather rude.

"He still is. Technically." She adds the last bit under breath so the police can't hear. "Mr. Campbell is currently subject to an internal disciplinary investigation which I am not willing to discuss." Her silence is more than Edward deserves, considering his treatment of her but it definitely isn't the police's business. The policeman looks up and his expression indicates that he wants to argue but Serena summons her finest glare and he seems to reconsider, dropping the unasked question.

"I see." The man makes a show of checking something in his notepad and Serena rolls her eyes. "And you are currently in a relationship with Mr. Campbell?" The question was unexpected but years of dealing with difficult colleagues, patients and Eleanor have allowed her to mask her surprise.

"Divorced." She repeats in a tone she reserves for F1s. "For 13 years now." Serena adds, pausing for a moment as she realises that she has now been divorced for as long as she was married and that she's been a Campbell for 4 or 5 years longer than she was ever a McKinnie. She looks up to find the silent female PC watching her and Serena meets her gaze, staring until the other woman looks away.

"So you said," the man, Frances – Serena suddenly recalls his name – responds in a slightly patronising tone of voice. "However, we were under the impression that you and Mr. Campbell had resumed your relationship?" Serena frowns, wondering how the man had discovered that information or even how it's relevant to their visit tonight.

"No."

"You are listed as his next of kin..."

Serena amends her answer, elaborating as the man looks up from his notepad with a frown. "Not any more. We had been seeing each other but not any more – our relationship ended this evening." That's more than enough of her personal life being discussed with strangers and Serena is rapidly losing what little patience she had to start with. "Listen, I have had a busy day at work and I'm really quite tired so please explain why you're here or leave – I should like to go to bed sometime before breakfast."

"Very well." The man sits forward, the notepad perched on his knee temporarily forgotten. "Mr. Campbell was attacked earlier this evening."

"What?" Serena asks, mouth open in surprise but she knows that she didn't mishear. "Where? When? Is he okay?" She knows that the questions are in the wrong order and she runs a hand through her hair as she attempts to absorb the information.

"Mr. Campbell suffered a stab wound to the upper torso, however, his condition is said to be stable but critical." The man explains gently and Serena immediately determines that Edward will be somewhere on Darwin, in the capable hands of Jac Naylor or Elliot Hope and she breathes a small sigh of relief.

"When did this happen? I was only speaking to him a couple of hours ago."

"On the hospital grounds." Her eyebrows raise involuntarily as she realises that Edward hadn't even made it off the hospital site before being attacked. "He was found by a nurse and a doctor coming off shift."

"Do you know who did this?"

"We are still trying to establish what happened." Serena can picture her ex-husband striding along, looking completely relaxed as she drove past him and part of her wishes that she had offered him a lift. She wonders whether it was Dr. Tressler and Nurse Carter who found him, but whoever it was, it won't have done their Christmas Eve any favours.

Serena nods distractedly, she is weighing up the pros and cons of telling Eleanor and Adrienne sooner rather than later. Edward has already had too much of a negative impact this year and Serena is loathe to let this news ruin their Christmas but on the other hand, when Eleanor finds out that Serena already knew – especially if the worst should happen – her daughter may never forgive her. She puts her head in her hands, suddenly feeling rather queasy.

No matter how angry she was at Edward several hours earlier, Serena wouldn't ever genuinely wish him any harm and the thought that she had been fast asleep on her sofa whilst he'd been wheeled into theatre was rather sobering and leaves her feeling conflicted. Serena hears the female PC finally speak, offering to get her a glass of water; she nearly quips that she'd prefer a glass of wine but holds her tongue, now isn't the time for flippant humour and she nods meekly.

"Thank you." A minute or so later, a glass tumbler is pushed into her hands and Serena looks up, catching the quick glance between the two police officers. She watches them walk into the kitchen but she barely pays it any notice as the day starts to replay itself and Serena attempts to work out who could have stabbed Edward as she sips at her drink.

She can't help the part of her which wonders if she might have been too hasty to ditch Edward; he might be Holby's biggest moron (in fact, he could well be the _world's_ biggest moron) but she does still love him and Serena hates the fact that despite everything he has done to her and Eleanor, she still loves him.

Unbidden the memories of Edward confessing to an affair with Mary-Claire; Edward swearing blind that he hadn't been drinking; Edward confessing that he had had a drink begin to replay and it's the push Serena needs to remind herself that she cannot allow herself to associate with Edward Campbell any more. It's the same old pattern repeating itself, Edward getting himself into trouble and trying to drag Serena down with him, ever since their wedding and she knows that she was right to get rid of him.

Realising that she's finished her drink, Serena looks around, unaware that she was still alone in the living room and she stands, picking up her wine glass in the other hand; she can hear one of the police officers making a call in the kitchen but she can't hear what they're saying and she walks through anyway, wondering if they have an update on Edward's situation.

"Do you know if..." Serena walks into the kitchen, halfway through asking whether they know anything more about Edward when she trails off as her brain catches up and she takes in the scene in font of her.

The female police officer had been on her phone but hangs up when Serena enters the room and she frowns when she spots the woman wearing disposable gloves. Her initial attention is drawn to the woman's sombre face before her gaze travels down to the worktop surface next to her.

Serena sees what looks like her shirt in a see-through plastic bag and automatically looks to the washing machine; the door is open and it's empty – the shirt had been the only item in it. She takes another step or two further into the kitchen, depositing her glasses down on the island in the middle of the room and she realises that there is a second bag next to her blood-stained shirt.

Containing the kitchen knife she cut herself on earlier in the evening which she hadn't cleaned.

"Hang on." Serena's stomach lurches as she realises what they're thinking. "Whatever you're thinking-"

"Mrs. Campbell," Serena spins around to see the other police officer behind her. "I am arresting you on suspicion of the attempted murder of Edward Campbell..."

**… …**

**AN: Expecting that?**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hey everyone. I know it's been a while, life's been busy; I've had a big job interview to prepare for and that's taken the last three weeks of my spare time. However, the good news is I got the job so it was worth it. I don't start until May (the budgets kick in after the start of the new financial year) so I've got lots of writing to catch up on and a bit of time to do it in.**

**This is just a short chapter to whet the appetite and get me back into the swing of things.**

**Thank you for your kind reviews so far, I hope you enjoy this chapter and would love to know what you think. :-)**

**…... **

"_Mrs. Campbell," Serena spins around to see the other police officer behind her. "I am arresting you on suspicion of the attempted murder of Edward Campbell..."_

The man had drawn up next to her and all Serena could do was to stare at him, blinking blankly as he tiredly recites the phrase that everyone is familiar with thanks to endless re-runs of mediocre TV crime dramas but that she never expected to hear directed at herself. "You do not have to say anything. However, it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence."

Wordlessly, she is led back through her living room and down her own hallway, Serena's socked feet silent compared to the clunky tread of the thick set man next to her. They pause by the front door so that she can pull on her boots and she does, mechanically completing the action. As she zips up the second boot, the female police officer pushes past her, exchanging a couple of quiet words with her colleague, too quiet for Serena to hear before she holds up the see-through evidence bags containing her shirt and kitchen knife and then heads outside, talking into her police radio again.

As Serena stands, the policeman holds out one of Eleanor's coats towards her and Serena shakes her head, ignoring the man's expression as she picks up her own from the hook on the wall, pulling the garment on, grateful for its familiar weight. Automatically sticking her hands in her pockets, Serena's fingers trace the familiar shapes of her mobile phone and keys.

"I didn't do it."

She speaks up.

"I didn't stab Edward."

She sounds uncertain to her own ears and repeats herself with more conviction as she looks to the policeman, imploring him to believe her and realise that it's all a mistake.

"That's what everyone says." The man doesn't even bother to look at her, checking his watch instead as he responds in a bored tone of voice. "Anyway, it's for my colleagues down at the station to decide. There's procedure to be followed, I'm sure you understand." A gentle but firm hand on her elbow steers her towards the still-open front door and as soon as it is shut and locked behind them, Serena is led down the short path and out into the waiting car.

**…... **

The journey from her house to Holby's Police station isn't a long one but Serena spends it in a bit of a daze, almost as if she is disconnected from the situation she's somehow found herself in, as if she is a viewer watching the events unfold on a screen instead of participating in them.

Serena is sat in the back of the car, next to the policeman whilst the female officer drives, navigating the quiet estate with ease as they head towards the centre of Holby. She hadn't been handcuffed for which Serena was inordinately thankful, she knew that she was innocent, that she hadn't attacked Edward and she got the feeling that the policeman next to her wasn't entirely convinced. Serena had immediately sought to exploit his uncertainty, she'd reasserted her innocence outside the car, quiet enough so that any neighbours still awake wouldn't hear but with more confidence than before and he'd actually looked at her this time, with something she can't place in his expression.

"That's for my colleagues to decide." He'd repeated after a long moment and Serena's shoulders had slumped.

The dark Vauxhall Astra pulled into a large car park at the back of the tall Police station and once they are parked, Serena is marched into a side entrance, through what feels like a warren of quiet corridors before they reach the front desk.

The sergeant on the desk looks up and exchanges an unenthusiastic greeting with the two officers escorting her before his gaze lands on her and his eyes rove over Serena in a way that she doesn't like; it reminds her of Edward's leer.

She is taken into a side room, one which is similar to the side room on Keller but without the constant beeping machinery that the hospital boasts. Another police officer joins them, a female with short, dark hair and she offers a wry comment about someone called 'Adrian' which provokes a laugh from the assembled police as they sign forms, transferring her like a piece of cattle.

"Right, that's that then – we'll probably see you in a bit anyway. Happy Christmas." The two police officers who came to her house leave offer an utterly unconvincing response before disappearing back into the warren of corridors and Serena sneaks a look at her watch.

12:07am.

Christmas Day.

Christmas Day and Serena is currently being asked to provide her fingerprints and a DNA sample. "I didn't do it." Serena shakes her head, again reiterating her innocence. "I'm a doctor for God's sake, I wouldn't-"

"Makes no difference to me what you are," the man shrugs, cutting her off. "You're under suspicion of murder."

"Attempted murder." The dark-haired police officer corrects without looking up from the form she is writing on. "He's not dead yet." the woman's casual and utterly indifferent comment about Serena's ex-husband shocks her.

"Attempted murder then." The sergeant concedes and goes on to explain that she has no choice under English law, that she could refuse permission to provide a blood or urine sample but not if she's under suspicion of drink-driving. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way." He waves a hand in the direction of the table and Serena notices that the other police officer has stopped writing and put down the clipboard, obviously ready to help her colleague if she needs to and Serena is forced to concede. It doesn't take long and once it's complete, her coat is taken along with her belt and the pockets emptied.

"One Blackberry mobile phone, one set of keys, one cigarette lighter and about £5 in various coins." Her watch and necklace are also taken and added to the pile which is then bagged in another see-through plastic bag and the duty sergeant ticks them off on his list.

The dark-haired police officer is looking at her oddly, the woman's gaze travelling across her skin and Serena realises with a sinking feeling that there several bruises and a couple of other marks which Edward left in his enthusiasm last night – which seems like a lifetime away – and Serena's embarrassment and humiliation at Edward's hands reaches new depths.

The police officer insists on taking photos of the hand-shaped marks and Serena fleetingly thinks that if Edward survives, she may just kill him herself but puts a stop to that line of thought, considering where she is.

"Right, you can be held for up to 24 hours without charge and we can get that extended if we need to. We aim to question you within six hours of your arrival here..." Serena barely listens to the rest, her mind stuck repeating the part about being held for 24 hours – the whole of Christmas Day – she needs to let Eleanor and her mother know but is immediately torn, she doesn't want them to know what's happened. "...and your possessions will be kept safe. Any questions?"

Any questions Serena may have had are lost, the side room door bursts open and two male police officers are wrestling with another man who is intent on not cooperating and turning the air blue with his language and abuse; Serena frowns, it's clear that the man is under the influence of some kind of drug and the duty sergeant calls to the dark-haired woman who joined them recently to remove Serena and he goes to help his colleagues.

Usually Serena is able to stand up for herself, to demand a phone call but this situation is so removed from one that she has any experience with and she's found herself withdrawing into her shell as she mentally scrabbles for any kind of purchase. Tell-tale black ink still staining her fingertips, Serena feels like Lady Macbeth as she is led by the dark-haired woman down a flight of stairs and along a corridor before stopping outside a door.

She feels sick when she realises what the room is.

"Someone will be along to interview you at some point and I'll be checking on you every so often so don't try anything." Taking Serena's silence as her answer, the police officer ushers her in, slamming the door behind her, the metallic clunk of the lock engaging almost painfully loud in the otherwise silent room and Serena is left alone.

The lighting is muted, several watts less than the familiar yet harsh lighting levels at the hospital. Eyes tracing the outline of the door, Serena turns to survey the room she's in.

There is a cot bolted to one of the walls, it doesn't look particularly comfortable or clean and Serena's gaze moves on to the rest of the spartan room. There isn't anywhere else to sit and she reluctantly approaches the cot, the smell of old sweat making her scrunch her face but she perches on it for a few minutes before it becomes uncomfortable and she shuffles backwards until her back hits the wall and Serena draws her knees up towards her, trying to ignore the ambient smell as she folds her arms around herself.

A single tear escapes and makes its way slowly down her face but Serena makes no effort to remove it, instead tracing its path by the sensation as it crosses her skin. As gravity draws it down past her nose and mouth towards the line of her jaw, it eventually drips, vanishing as it's soaked up in her clothing and as it does, Serena promises herself that it is the final tear she will ever shed for Edward Campbell. After nearly thirty years of him dragging her down, this is the final straw.

And despite the thoughts racing around her mind, somehow Serena manages to fall into an uneasy, fitful sleep.

**…... **

**AN2: Safe to say that Serena is a little shaken; there's still no resolution yet, the interview is coming up and it doesn't quite go to plan...**

**A question for you all, do you want Edward to live or do you want him killed off?**

**Would love to know what you thought :)**


End file.
